From Odisha To Hollywood. This Odia Is All Set To Make History In His Next Movie

2 min

As they say cinema breaks language barriers, so does an artist. Odisha-born Bollywood actor Pitobash Tripathy, who is enjoying every bit of attention and adulation post his Hollywood debut ‘Million Dollar Arm’, has recently shifted his base to Los Angeles with an aim to make a mark in the West.

The young actor has played a local assistant and an interpreter of Indian players in the Craig Gilliespie’s directorial venture which is based on the true story of baseball players Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel discovered by sports agent J.B. Bernstein.

Pitobash had shared screen space with the Golden-Globe award winning actor and hit TV series ‘Mad Men’ star Jon Hamn in his first Hollywood outing, along with two other Indian actors Suraj Sharma (Life of Pie) and Madhur Mittal (Slumdog Millionaire).

“During the shooting of ‘Million Dollar Arm’, I have made some good friends there and they are also very co-operative in giving me my own space in the world’s largest film industry,” said the actor who left for LA on 21st of last month.

The Odia actor has carved a niche in Bollywood with his versatility during his appearance in some of the acclaimed films like ‘Shor in the City’, ‘I am Kalam’ and ‘Shanghai’. He had also a blink-and-you-miss-the-role’ in the 2009 Aamir Khan-starrer magnum opus ‘3 Idiots’ helmed by ace director Raj Kumar Hirani. He started his acting career with a brief role in ‘Krishana DK and Raj Nidimoru’s 2009 film ‘99’.

Pitobash considers Irrfan Khan, Bollywood’s most successful export to Hollywood, as his role model after meeting and taking advice from the powerhouse performer on how to prepare for a career in the West. He says he has an agent (a must for an actor in the West) who will help him to get more works in Hollywood apart from strengthening his base there.

Born and brought up in Odisha, Pitobash studied acting from the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, before landing up in the city of dreams for a movie career. “Neither had I had a godfather nor did I know someone in the industry, so I decided to sharpen my craft to perfection before venturing into filmdom, added the 30-year-old actor.

Pitobash is the youngest sibling of his three brothers and two sisters. His parents – mother a retired school teacher and father a retired Agriculture officer – are equally excited about their son’s big move.